This recipe is something of an experiment. I’ve made Sloe gin before and i’ve tasted damson Whiskey which was very delicious. However this flavour combination, in this application, is a venture into the unknown……………….

Now is a great time to be making flavoured alcohol, Autumn fruits are ready to be harvested and preserved so the flavours will have a few months to infuse, ready just in time for Christmas. This Spiced Plum Whisky is to be added to my Christmas gift hampers, so fingers crossed it works!

To make my Spiced Plum Whisky I have used:

3 litres of Whisky

20 plums

440g soft brown sugar

2 cinnamon sticks

5 cloves

4 star anise

A splash of vanilla extract (roughly 5-10ml)

I quartered the plums into an ovenproof dish then added the brown sugar, spices and vanilla extract. I then roasted them for 25 minutes at 160 degrees c until the plums turned a golden amber colour and started to release their juices, then I let the plums cool completely. Next I transferred them, along with the Whisky into a large Tupperware container with a tight fitting lid. I’m storing the whisky in a cool dark place, in a few weeks time I’ll be tasting the Whisky to make sure the flavours are coming along nicely and will tweak if necessary, i’m not a big Whisky fan but I love all the other flavours and am hoping for some tasty results!

So this week it’s National picnic week and what better way to celebrate than with a trip to Holkham beach! We combed the shore line for treasure; razor clam shells, cockle shells and a crab or two. We picnicked in the sand dunes with sausage rolls and lashings of ginger beer, then we wandered back through the forest amongst the pine trees, foraging for acorns and pine cones along the way.

Perfect for Keeping cool in the hot weather and sure to feature at our Diamond Jubilee party, here is my recipe for pink lemonade

You will need:

4 lemons

300g castor sugar

300ml water

150g raspberrys.

Fizzy water.

Quarter your lemons and place them into a saucepan with the castor sugar and water. Bring the mixture to the boil, simmer for about 5 minutes then pull off the heat and set aside to cool.

You can discard the skins of the lemons at this stage if you like, but if you use the whole of the lemon, skins, pith, pips the lot, not only will you get a far more intense flavour, your lemonade will be lovely and cloudy too!

Using a stick blender or food processor blitz your cooled lemon mixture together with the raspberrys.

Next step is to sieve your lemon and raspberry mix, to get rid of any raspberry seeds. You will be left with an intense fruit cordial which you can decant into a bottle and store in the fridge for a few days – this is not lemonade yet, and will need diluting with fizzy water before you drink it.

To assemble your pink lemonade, crack out your ice cubes and pop them into glasses, slice up a lemon and place this and a few ice cubes into a jug, them mix up your lemonade. I used 1 part lemon + raspberry syrup to three parts busy water but its really down to personal taste, if you prefer more of a zing you could add a little more cordial.

Add a tablespoon of vodka to your glass for a perfect evening cocktail, splendid!

The current heatwave in the UK means its HOT HOT HOT! Its brilliant……but its important to keep your fluids up when in this heat, particularly if youre not accustomed to it!

This is a quick (ish) way to cool down in the heatwave and add colour to your chosen chilled beverage.

Step one

Source some small delicious edible treats that will fit neatly into your ice cube tray. I chose raspberrys, blackberrys, cucumber slices and violas from my garden. Any fresh fruit or berries would work well, lemon or lime wedges would be ideal!

Step two

Insert these into your ice cube tray

Step Three

Submerse you’re edible treats in water and insert into your freezer for 8-10 hours or so………………

Step 4

Once you’re satisfied your ice cubes are thoroughly frozen pop them out and add to your favourite beverage

Cucumber ice cubes = hendricks and tonic on a friday night as a well deserved treat after a long week.

As for the other flavoured ice cubes? Well they will be just perfect with my Jubillee pink lemonade………………..Recipe to follow!